Optical system for panoramic cameras



Amma R. H. NIGHT OPTICAL SYSTEMFOR PANORAMIC CAMERAS Filed July ll, 1966 SCANNNG MIRROR ,ey/GJ i@ l l "19 :Y gl miglia 'gtu fr. ,5: I ,I i; f i 'L ,g, L "W r'atented Dec. it, 2&8

continuously by a motor 2l through a mechanism rep- 3415423 resented schematically at 22. Alternatively, the second GPTCAL SSililw EUR PANRARHC CAPERAS Ralph H. 't/iight, Portugnese Bend, Calif., assigner to Fairchild Camera and instrument Corporation, a cormirror surface may be formed on a second member coaxial with member it) and rotatable synchronously poration of Balai/vare 5 heremth Fired gugy is w65 gel.. Ng. 5645373 A The system further comprises optical means effective to ,5 (Si. 953.1%) direct and focus an image element upon one surface of the member substantially at its axis of rotation This invention relates to an optical system for paii' and thence lupon'another surface thereof also substantially oramic cameras and particularly to such cameras in which 10 at its axis of rotation. As indicated in the drawing, an the film is stationary during the exposure period. object is imaged on the lower mirror surface of the Heretofore, optical systems for panoramic cameras have member 10 and is reiiected thereby and translated by an been of two principal types. in the first type, the objective optical system including, in the order named, an objective lens is stationary and scanning is effected by means of a lens 1l, a stationary mirror i2, a stationary mirror i3, scanning mirror accurately synchronized with a moving the reverse mirror surface of the member it), and a film. Such accurate synchronization involves complex and slit plate 14 adjacent a curved film platen l5. A film costly synchronizing mechanism for driving the film trans- 16 is transported past the platen l5 by any well known port. form of film transport, shown schematically as a supply The second prior type of optical system for panoramic reel i7, idler rollers 18 and i9, and a takenp reel Ztl.

cameras has involved lthe use ofalm which is stationary 20 The film transport may, for example, be of the type during the exposure period together with an optical system described in Patent 3,169,682 to Lysle. In order to cause including one or more rotatable lenses or prisms. Such the nlm i6 to conform to the curved configuration of a rotatable lens system, together with its supporting the platen i5, it is of the conventional apertured vacuum structure, has considerable mass and requires a considertype communicating with a vacuum chamber 24 having able amount of driving power, yparticularly if it is of the 25 a vacuum inlet 2S. The slit plate le is connected to be oscillating type, requiring alternate acceleration and deoscillated synchronously with rotation of the member celeration. Moreover, at typical speeds of rotation of such it) through a suitable driving connection from the motor a lens system, provisions must be made for minimizing 2 represented schematically at 23. vibration due to dynamic unbalance, which becomes The path of a ray from an image element of the object diliicult and expensive. is indicated by the solid line A corresponding to the mean It is an object of the invention therefore to provide a Iposition of the member 10. Upon rotation of the member new and improved optical system for panoramic cameras l0 to the position indicated in dotted lines, the ray from which obviates one or more of the above disadvantages an image element is represented by dotted line B. In of prior optical systems of this type. order to cause a ray, such as ray A impinging on the lt is another object of the invention to provide a member itl substantially at its axis of rotation, to be new and improved optical system for panoramic cameras redirected upon the back surface thereof also substantially in which the moving parts have a minimum mass and, at its axis of rotation, the mirror l2 is inclined to the therefore, require a minimum driving power and can be vertical by the angle a While the mirror 13 is inclined readily dynamically balanced. to the horizontal by the angle-. The angles or and In accordance with the invention, there is provided an may vary within a substantial range but, in one preferred optical system for a panoramic camera comprising a form, each of these angles is 221/2" so that the angle continuously rotatable means having at least two planar between the mirrors l2 and i3 is 45. reflective surfaces lparallel to its axis of rotation, optical The lens l1 is disposed so that its rear nodal point is means effective to direct an image element upon one located substantially at the axis of rotation of the member surface of the rotatable -rneans substantially at its axis itl. While the lens llt is shown as a single lens for purof rotation and thence upon another surface thereof also poses of simplicity and illustration, it may actually be cornsubstantially at its axis of rotation, and an arcuate filmposed of a number of lens elements some of which may supporting platen having a radius of curvature substanactually be positioned in front of, between, or beyond the tially equal to the equivalent focal length of the optical fixed mirrors l2 and i3 in the optical path through the means and disposed with its center of curvature at the '00 system, The platen l5 has a'cylindrical surface disposed axis of rotation of the rotatable means. The term rotatin the focal plane of the lens ll with its center at the axis able is used herein and in the appended claims to refer of rotation of the member it). While, as pointed out, the to either rotation continuously in the same direction or slit plate i4 is oscillated synchronously with rotation of oscillatory rotation. the member ld, that is, with the image motion produced For a better understanding of the present invention, by the mirror surfaces of the member it), the degree of together with other and further objects thereof, reference synchronization required between these two movements is is had to the following description, taken in connection of a lower order of magnitude than that required for synwith the accompanying drawing, While its scope will be chronizing the scanning mirror and the film in a movingpointed out in the appended claims. tilm camera and is easily achievable.

The single ligure of the drawing is a schematic repre- It is believed that the operation of the optical system sentation of an optical system for a panoramic camera of the invention will be apparent from the foregoing deembodying the present invention. scription. In brief, 'it will be assumed that the object being Referring now more specifically to the drawing, there is photographed, for example the ground, is at a practically represented an optical system for a panoramic camera infinite distance from the camera. On this assumption, a comprising a continuously rotatable member having at 55 bundle of light rays of a size dependent upon the field of least two planar reliective surfaces parallel to its axis of the objective lens il and including rays such as the ray I rotation. Specifically, this member may be in the form of a A is imaged on the lower mirror surface of the member 1t) substantially planar member it) in the form of a plate substantially at its axis of rotation, directed through the with mirror surfaces on both sides and preferably of a lens lll, and reflected by the mirrors 12 and 13 to the thickness which is only a few percent of its maximum upper mirrored surface of the member it), also substantiallateral dimension. The two-sided mirror 't is rotated ly at its axis of rotation, and thence to the slit plate ld artnr/ias t la t, and to the lm 16. As the motor 21 continuously rotates the member til and osciilates the slit plate in synchronism, successive image elements expose successive line areas ot the hlm lr6 as the slit plate 14 moves from its uppermost to its lowermost position. During the reverse travel of the slit plate trl, the film transport 17 is advanced to dispose the next successive frame on the vacuum platen l5. ln this way, successive tiel/ls of View are photographed, asin other panoramic cameras.

Since the iilm is stationary during the exposure portion of each cycle, no accurate synchronization of a movable ltn with the scanner is required. At the same time, the member .itl with mirrors en both surfaces may be made extremely light, requiring a minimum of power for operation and involving a minimum of dynamic unbalance.

thilc there has been described what is, at present, considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, lit will he obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein, without llenar-ting from the invention, and it is, therefore, aimed in the appended claims to cover all such changes and 'modihcations as tall within the truc spirit and scope ofthe invention.

l What is claimed is:

An optical system for a panoramic camera comprising:

a continuously rotatable means having,7 at least two t planar rcllective surfaces parallel to its axis of rotation; optical means eilcctive to direct an image element upon one surface of said rotatable means substantially at I s of curvature substartiall f e ual to the er utvalent focal length of said optical means and disposed with its center of curvature at the axis of rotation of said rotatable means.

An optical system in accordance with claim 1 in which said rotatable means is a substantially planar member with opposed mirror surfaces.

3. An optical system in accordance with claim in which said optical means includes a stationary objective lens and a plurality of stationary mirrors.

it. An optical system in accordance with claim l. in which said optical means is stationary and includes, in the order named, an objective lens and a pair of planar mirrors.

5. An optical system in accordance with claim 4 in which the angle between said planar mirrors is approximately 45..

6. An optical system which the objective lens point substantially at the means.

in accordance with claim in is positioned with its rear nodal axis ot rotation ot said rotatable 3,217,623 Hotchkiss 95--12-5 JOHN M. HORAN, Pri/nary Examiner, 

1. AN OPTICAL SYSTEM FOR A PANORAMIC CAMERA COMPRISING: A CONTINUOUSLY ROTATABLE MEANS HAVING AT LEAST TWO PLANAR REFLECTIVE SURFACES PARALLEL TO ITS AXIS OF ROTATION; OPTICAL MEANS EFFECTIVE TO DIRECT AN IMAGE ELEMENT UPON ONE SURFACE OF SAID ROTATABLE MEANS SUBSTANTIALLY AT ITS AXIS OF ROTATION AND THENCE UPON ANOTHER SURFACE THEREOF ALSO SUBSTANTIALLY AT ITS AXIS OF ROTATION; 